DOI: 10.1021/cg101196r
2010, Vol. 10 4671–4671 When Giants Cooperate Instead of Collide
I recently had the opportunity to attend the First ChinaIndia-Singapore Symposium on Crystal Engineering (July 30-August 2, 2010) in Singapore. This meeting of approximately 50 scientists was organized by Jagadese J. Vittal, Gautam R. Desiraju, and Miao Du and held on the campus of the National University of Singapore. It was satisfying to observe the very high quality of science and engineering represented by the participants of this meeting, and perhaps just a bit intimidating as well.
Editor-in-Chief of Crystal Growth & Design with the organizers of the First China-India-Singapore Symposium on Crystal Engineering (July 30-August 2, 2010, Singapore) from left to right: Prof. Gautam Desiraju (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India), Robin D. Rogers (Editor in Chief, Crystal Growth & Design), Prof. Jagadese J. Vittal (National University of Singapore, Singapore), Prof. Miao Du (Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China), and Prof. Feng Xue (National University of Singapore, Singapore).
Singapore was perhaps a natural meeting point for the two most populous countries in the world. There are cultural differences between China and India which seem to have been naturally overcome in the harmony of Singapore. Scientifically, however, there is still a cultural difference between China and India in how science is perceived, valued, interpreted, and conducted. While I have observed this in the papers submitted to Crystal Growth & Design, it was something else again to have the opportunity to observe high level scientists in the field of crystal engineering from both countries present their work and interact at both scientific and social levels. The two cultures are complementary and clearly there is much to be gained by their working together to take advantage of the relative strengths of each. Indeed, a major theme of the meeting and major outcome was the concept of working together. Participants cited the desire for greater faculty exchange for longer periods of time and the placement of students and postdocs in each other’s laboratories. Cultural understanding would appear to be critical in making these goals happen. The participants also noted that greater prestige needs to be associated with having research experience in China or India, rather than just the United States or Europe. Exchange r 2010 American Chemical Society
programs with the United States have been a natural outcome of the steady supply of visiting scientists, students, and postdocs trained in the United States who then return to their native countries. However, such exchanges are much less frequent between the two most populous countries on Earth, and the lack of scientific understanding may be a direct consequence. Each country has its own way of conducting science, interpreting science, and using science. There are major differences in the value and emphasis on fundamental vs. applied research and indeed on the quality and quantity of research output. New approaches will have to be developed to encourage cooperation when there are such obvious differences. The entire world could have much to gain by the synergistic interactions of India and China in science. It is clear to me, especially in the area of crystal engineering, that scientists in these two countries have been scientific innovators. The emergence of the pharmaceutical industry in India and its importance to the economic growth of that country is but one example. The application of crystal engineering to energy applications suggest that perhaps the energy sector in China could well be another boost to economic growth. With both countries already establishing powerhouse economies, one can only imagine what could be possible with closer scientific cooperation. It was satisfying to observe the participants of this meeting, encouraged by their interactions and eager to continue them. The next meeting will be organized in Guangzhou by Xiao-Ming Chen in October/November 2012. I cannot wait to find out what will be the state of the world by then and how the science from these two countries will have influenced how we got there. For more on the China-India-Singapore Symposium on Crystal Engineering, please read the conference report posted by conference organizer Jagadese J. Vittal with Kumar Biradha on the Crystal Growth & Design Network (https:// communities.acs.org/community/cgdnetwork/blog/2010/09/ 14/conference-review-china-india-singapore-symposium-oncrystal-engineering). The recently launched cgdNetwork, led by Associate Editor Michael Zaworotko, is a new, free online forum that enables crystal science and engineering researchers to keep up with the latest discussions and literature through community-supported features and news. Conference, literature, and patent reviews written by selected experts in the field are forthcoming. I invite you to join this vibrant community and look forward to reading your posts. More on the cgdNetwork will appear in my January 2011 editorial. Robin D. Rogers Editor-in-Chief The University of Alabama Published on Web 10/18/2010
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